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Henri Vieuxtemps

Henri Vieuxtemps was a Belgian composer and violinist.

As a major exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school, he fills an important role in the history of the violin. Vieuxtemps received his first violin instruction from his father, an amateur violinist and luthier, as well as a local teacher. Within a short time of giving his first concert at age six, he was giving concerts in various surrounding cities, including Liège and Brussels where he met the violinist Charles Auguste de Bériot, with whom he began studies. In 1829, Bériot took him to Paris where he made a successful concert debut.

In the following years, his musical undertakings would take him across Europe and build connections and friendships with his various contemporaries such as Robert Schumann, in addition to attracting the attention of musicians such as Hector Berlioz and even Niccolo Paganini, who acknowledged Vieuxtemps for his skill on the violin. Vieuxtemps eventually began to pursue his aspirations as a composer. His Violin Concerto No. 1 was premiered to great acclaim. Later based in Paris, Vieuxtemps would compose with great success and perform throughout Europe.

Unfortunately, Vieuxtemps sufferred from multiple paralytic strokes which ended his career as a violinist. However, he continued to compose afterwards and left behind a body of finely crafted works on a variety of string instruments. To this day, his seven violin concertos are the works that audiences and musicians generally know Vieuxtemps by.